Obamacare's cost-control programs may be contagious

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) may actually be the unicorns we've been waiting for, spreading their cost-saving magic throughout the health system. An early cost-sharing program in Massachusetts designed to cut costs for private Blue Cross Blue Shield patients also lowered costs for Medicare patients who were seen by the same providers, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. An ACO, for any one needing a quick refresher, is a network of doctors and hospitals that shares responsibility for providing care to a specific group of patients.